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Developmental Psychology
1998,
Vol. 34, No. 5, 934-946Copyright 1998 by the American Psychological Association, Inc.
0012-1649/98/$;!.
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Children's Interpersonal Behaviors and the Teacher-Child Relationship
Sondra H. Birch and Gary W. Ladd
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Relations between kindergartners' (N = 199; M age = 5 years 6 months) behavioral orientations
and features of their Ist-grade teacher-child relationships (i.e., conflict, closeness, dependency)
were examined longitudinally. Early behavioral orientations predicted teacher-child relationship
quality in that (a) unique associations emerged between children's early antisocial behavior and
features of their Ist-grade teacher-child relationships (i.e., negative relation with closeness, positive
relation with conflict and dependency) and between asocial behavior and teacher-child dependency,
and (b) prosocial behavior was correlated with but not uniquely related to any feature of children's
Ist-grade teacher-child relationships. In addition, specific features of the teacher-child relationship
(e.g., conflict) predicted changes in children's behavioral adjustment (e.g., decreasing prosocial
behavior).
The linkages between children's interpersonal behaviors and
their classroom relationships occupy a prominent position in
recent models of early school adjustment and have garnered
considerable empirical attention. Most of the studies conducted
in this domain have been focused on children's peer relation-
ships (i.e., ties with classmates). However, peers are not the
only persons with whom children form relationships and interact
in classrooms; the classroom teacher is also a significant figure
in the school environment. Compared to the evidence assembled
on children's relationships with classmates, far less is known
about the determinants or consequences of children's teacher-
child relationships.
Tt is likely that children's behaviors affect the relationships
that they form with teachers, and the relationships that children
form with teachers affect their subsequent behavioral adjust-
ment. These two premises are consistent with those addressed
by researchers in the field of children's peer relations and with
a growing corpus of empirical evidence in that domain (see
Asher & Coie, 1990; Berndt & Ladd, 1989; Bukowski, New-
comb,
& Hartup, 1996; Rubin & Asendorpf, 1993). Findings
show that (a) antisocial behavior is an antecedent of peer rejec-
Sondra H. Birch, Department of Educational Psychology, University
of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Gary W. Ladd, Department of Educa-
tional Psychology and Department of Psychology, University of Illinois
at Urbana-Champaign.
This study was supported by National Institute of Mental Health
Grants 1-RO1MH-49223 and 2-RO1MH-49223. This article was pre-
pared while Gary W. Ladd was a fellow at the Center for Advanced
Study in the Behavioral Sciences at Stanford University, with support
provided by Spencer Foundation Grant 199400132. Special appreciation
is expressed to all the children and parents who made this study possible
and to members of the Pathways Project for assistance with data
collection.
Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Sondra
H. Birch or Gary W. Ladd, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign,
183 Children's Research Center, 51 Gerty Drive, Champaign, Illinois
61820. Electronic mail may be sent to g-ladd@uiuc.edu.
tion during early and middle childhood (e.g., Coie & Kuper-
smidt, 1983; Dodge, 1983; Ladd, Price, & Hart, 1988), (b)
asocial behavior forecasts peer relationship problems as children
grow older (Rubin & Asendorpf, 1993), and (c) prosocial be-
havior predicts peer acceptance (Dodge, 1983; Ladd et al.,
1988).
In addition, qualities of children's peer relationships,
such as rejection by the peer group, have been linked to later
behavioral adjustment outcomes, such as externalizing (e.g.,
antisocial, conduct problems) and internalizing (e.g., asocial,
shy-anxious behavior) problems (see DeRosier, Kupersmidt, &
Patterson, 1994; Parker & Asher, 1987).
Of the research that has been conducted on the origins and
outcomes of children's teacher-child relationships, the premise
that has received the least empirical attention is that children's
interpersonal behaviors affect the relationships that they form
with teachers. Prior research on instructional environments
(e.g., Brophy & Evertson, 1981) has shown that teachers' per-
ceptions of students' behaviors are associated with the attitudes
that teachers form toward specific children. Perhaps not surpris-
ingly, teachers tend to prefer children who exhibit cooperative,
cautious, and responsible behavior in the classroom over those
who display disruptive, assertive, and independent behaviors
(see Wentzel, 1991). In addition, Pianta and Steinberg (1992)
have shown that problem behaviors, including conduct, internal-
izing, and learning difficulties, are negatively associated with
the quality of early teacher-child relationships.'
Somewhat greater investigative attention has been focused
on the premise that the teacher-child relationship influences
children's development and adjustment. Defining the teacher-
child relationship and its features has been an essential point
of departure in this area of investigation, and researchers have
developed differing conceptual models for this purpose. Howes
and colleagues (e.g., Howes & Hamilton, 1992, 1993; Howes &
1 Whereas Pianta and Steinberg (1992) investigated conduct, internal-
izing, and learning problems, this investigation was focused on three
distinct interpersonal behavioral orientations that may characterize chil-
dren's early dispositions in the school environment.
934
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